Author: Philip Ewing

NPR Enlarge this image Then-FBI Director Robert Mueller testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on June 13, 2013, during the committee’s oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP This week in the Russia investigations: Trump wanted to fire Mueller — does that matter? Parsing the tea leaves of the palace intrigue. And is this the end of the FBI memo mishegoss? Whoa President Trump reportedly tried to fire Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller last year, not long after firing FBI Director James Comey. But White House counsel...

NPR Enlarge this image Steve Bannon speaks before introducing Republican senatorial candidate Roy Moore during a campaign event at on December 5, 2017, in Fairhope, Ala. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images This week in the Russia investigations: Trump rows back on a potential Mueller interview, Sen. Feinstein releases a big transcript and Bannon is headed to the House Intelligence Committee. The exile Once upon a time, Steve Bannon belonged to the princes of the universe. Loved by his allies and hated by his foes, he was, most importantly, feared by both. Now, however, the...

NPR Enlarge this image Members of Congress are set to vote on a controversial surveillance law that President Trump supports — until he faulted it in a Thursday morning tweetstorm. Zach Gibson/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Zach Gibson/Getty Images President Trump escalated the intermittent war with his intelligence agencies on Thursday in a series of Twitter posts that threatened to torpedo a vote in Congress on what spies consider one of their most essential surveillance tools. Members of Congress were set to vote to reauthorize a controversial law that permits U.S. intelligence to surveil Americans without a warrant...

GOOGLE NEWS On Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., released testimony that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee. She released the material without coordinating with committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption toggle caption Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP The infamous Russia dossier was not the sole basis for the FBI’s investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, according to a newly public document that notched a tactical win for Democrats inside Washington, D.C. That detail and a few others in a nearly 300-page transcript released on Tuesday by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., blunts...

GOOGLE NEWS Mark Wilson/Getty Images If 2016 was the bravura opener and 2017 the tension-building second act, 2018 could deliver an action-packed conclusion to the Russia imbroglio. Or this story might still be getting started. Even without knowing every surprise the saga might bring in the new year, there are already enough waypoints on the calendar to confirm that 2018 will ratchet up the volume yet again. Here are four big storylines to watch. The midterm election One-third of the Senate and every member of the House of Representatives is running for re-election this year. Current and former U.S....

NPR Enlarge this image FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (C) is escorted by U.S. Capitol Police before a meeting with members of the House Oversight and House Judiciary Committees on December 21, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images This week in the Russia investigations: The Mueller Wars rage behind the scenes, Republicans may get their Clinton uranium inquiry and Senate Intelligence Committee looking into Russia and the Jill Stein campaign. The sharks are circling President Trump says Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller is safe. Reporters shouted a question about whether...

NPR Enlarge this image Attorney General Jeff Sessions waits for the beginning of a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on November 14, 2017, on Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Donald Trump’s campaign was frenzied and frantic, people at the top have said — descriptions that could be highly consequential for the White House and to Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller. For former campaign officials who’ve come into the administration, the descriptions of their work last year are meant not only to strengthen their denials regarding collusion with the Russian government...

NPR Enlarge this image Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about domestic security on Nov. 2 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Last week in the Russia investigations: More pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, more details about Russia’s personal outreach to Trump campaign aides and more questions about Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russians last year More questions for Jeff Sessions The bad news for Attorney General Jeff Sessions: He is due back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to talk about the Russia imbroglio, this time before the House Judiciary Committee. The good...